The present invention relates generally to earthmoving machines, and more particularly to automatic blade slope control.
Construction machines referred to as earthmoving machines are used to shape a plot of land into a desired ground profile. Examples of earthmoving machines include bulldozers and motor graders. Bulldozers are used primarily for coarse movement of earth; motor graders are used primarily for fine control of the final ground profile. Bulldozers and motor graders are equipped with a blade to move earth. The blade position and blade attitude are adjustable. Blade position can be specified by parameters such as blade elevation and blade sideshift. Blade attitude can be specified by parameters such as blade tip angle and blade slope angle.
Blade position and blade attitude are often manually controlled by a machine operator. To improve operational speed and precision, automatic control is desirable. Various automatic control systems have been deployed. They vary in complexity, cost, number of parameters controlled, response time, and precision.